A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao was informed by the central government’s standing counsel Rajesh Gogna that they are led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. But he was not available for the day.

According to reports, the counsel for AJL said senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the case was also not available. The court listed the matter for hearing on January 15 after both the sides consented to it.

It is worthwhile to mention here that a single judge on December 21, 2018 had dismissed AJL’s plea challenging Centre’s order to vacate its premises. It is situated in press enclave at ITO here. The order had asked it to vacate it within two weeks.